Integrating Word with Excel

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MICROSOFT OFFICE

Microsoft Office contains a group of software programs sold

together in one package. The programs in Office are designed

to work independently and in conjunction with the other pro-

grams. With Microsoft Office, you can create documents and

projects using the tools best suited to your individual tasks.

Sometimes, however, you may need the capabilities of more

than just one software tool for a project. With Microsoft

Office, you can create an integrated file—that is, a file that

includes information or elements created by two or more

software tools.

In this study unit, you’ll explore many software functions as

you create projects that make the most of your Office soft-

ware. You’ll combine the power of Word and Excel to create

an invoice with an embedded worksheet that auto matically

calculates the total amount due. You’ll study the procedure

for embedding an Excel chart in a Word document. Finally,

you’ll combine Word and Excel to create a database address

list with a form letter to produce a personalized mailing.

As you’ll soon see, not only do integrated functions give you

access to the power of two or more programs at once, but

they also allow you to share information among several files.

Once you understand the basic ways in which the different

Office applications interact, you’ll probably be able to come

up with dozens of practical applications to streamline your

own work.

Integrating Word with Excel


OBJECT LINKING AND EMBEDDING

Object linking and embedding (OLE) is a special feature of the

Windows environment that’s supported by all Office applica-

tions. OLE allows you to add information from one type of file

to another (embedding), or you can share data within two or

more files (linking). (You’ll learn more about the differences

between linking and embedding as you proceed through this

study unit.) Data that’s integrated in either of these ways is

called an object. The typical Office user works with a variety

of different types of objects, such as

• Clip art and fonts

• Spreadsheets and charts

• Datasheets and reports

• Formatted text from word-processed documents

OLE has a wide range of practical applications in the Office

environment. For example, you can embed an Excel worksheet

into a Word document. Then you can use Excel’s calculation

features in the word processing environment. Or, you can

illustrate a letter with a graphic from the ClipArt Gallery and

touch up your artwork without leaving Word. In this study

unit, you’ll be concentrating on linking and embedding

between Office software tools. OLE also works with many

other Windows programs, allowing you to integrate your

documents in a wide variety of ways.

The original file linked or embedded in a document is known

as the source file. The file into which the object is embedded

or to which the object is linked is known as the destination

file. Linked objects and embedded objects differ mainly in

terms of where the data included in the object is stored and

how the object is updated after being placed in the destina-

tion file.

When you embed an object in a file, you first create a file

in one application and then insert (embed) an object from

another application into the first file. For example, you can

create a Word file and embed an Excel spreadsheet into the

Word file. Embedded objects become part of the destination

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Integrating Word with Excel 3

file and, once inserted, are no longer part of the source file.

You can edit an embedded object only by opening the desti-

nation file, then double-clicking the embedded object to

make it active.

The following procedure shows you how easy it is to embed

an object into your document:

1. In the destination document, click exactly where you

want to embed the object.

2. From the Insert tab, click Object in the Text group

(Figure 1).

3. When the Object dialog box appears, click the

Create New tab, if it isn’t already selected.

4 In the Object type box, click the type of object

you want to create (Figure 2).

5. Click OK. The object appears as a source file

surrounded by a border, showing that the object

is active and can be edited or modified (Figure 3).

FIGURE 1—To embed an object, first select Object from the Insert tab.

Integrating Word with Excel4

FIGURE 2—Click the

type of object you

want to embed in

your document.

FIGURE 3—The embedded object appears precisely where you want it.


With a linked object, information is updated only if you

modify the source file. The actual data in a linked object is

stored in the source file. The destination file stores only the

location of the source file and displays a representation of

the linked data. To link an object, the source file must be

available to you, or you must create the source file within its

particular application. Follow these steps to create a linked

object in the destination file:

1. Click in the document where you want to place the

linked object or embedded object.

2. From the Insert tab, click Object in the Text group.

3. When the Object dialog box appears, click the Create

from File tab (Figure 4).

4. In the File name box, type the name of the source file

from which you want to create a linked object, or click

Browse to select from a list.

5. Select the Link to file check box.

6. Click OK. The linked object appears as a representation

of the source file (Figure 5).

FIGURE 4—To create a linked object, click the Create from File tab.


If you modify the source file from within its source applica-

tion—for example, updating a linked spreadsheet by opening

the workbook in Excel—the changes will appear in the linked

object in the destination document. To modify the source file

from within the destination document, double-click the

object to open it within the source application.

In summary, an embedded object exists only within the host

document. A linked object exists in the application in which

it was created and in the application to which it’s linked.

For your first project, you’ll create a common integrated

file relationship—an Excel worksheet embedded in a Word

document. This particular integration allows you to access

the powerful calculating ability of Excel while you’re using

Word to create a memo, letter, invoice, or report.

WORD PROCESSING WITH ANEMBEDDED WORKSHEET

In the following sections, you’ll create a standard invoice

using Word. In the numerical portion of the invoice, you’ll

embed a blank Excel worksheet in the file. Then, while

you’re in the word processing window, you’ll actually use

Excel to calculate the total amount due.

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FIGURE 5—A linked object appears as a representation of the source file.


Creating an Invoice Heading

In this section, you’ll begin to create a Word document for a

standard business invoice.

1. From the Windows desktop, click on the Start button,

point to All Programs, click on Microsoft Office Home

and Business Edition, and then Microsoft Office Word

2010. A blank document screen appears in the Word

window (Figure 6).

2. From the Page Layout tab, click the After down arrow

twice in the Paragraph group to change the spacing to 0.

3. Click the Center Align button in the paragraph group

on the Home tab.

4. Click the Bold button in the Font group.

5. Click the Font list arrow in the Font group. A drop-down

menu of available fonts appears.

6. Click Calibri, if it’s not already selected.

7. Click the Font Size list arrow in the toolbar. A drop-

down menu of font sizes appears.

8. Click 11 to select a new size font, if it’s not

already selected.

FIGURE 6—The opening Word screen is a blank document.


9. Press the Caps Lock key.

10. Type the word INVOICE.

11. Press the Enter key three times.

12. Press the Caps Lock key to turn this feature off.

13. Click the Bold button in the toolbar to turn this

feature off.

14. Click the Left Align button in the toolbar.

Now move directly to the next section to create an

automatic date.

Inserting an Automatic Date

Your computer has a battery-operated clock that keeps track

of the date and time—even when the computer is off. Follow

the steps below to insert the current date at the top of your

invoice, and set the clock to update automatically each time

you print the document in the future.

1. From the Insert tab, select Date & Time in the text

group. The Date and Time dialog box appears (Figure 7).

2. Click the third option in this list—the standard long date

that typically appears in business correspondence—as

shown in Figure 7. Your dialog box should display the

current date.

3. Select the Update automatically check box.

4. Click OK. The current date appears in the document.

5. Press the Enter key twice.

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Adding Text

In this section, you’ll input most of the body text of your

invoice. Follow the steps below to enter the text of the invoice

beneath the date.

1 Type the name: Mr. Nicholas Cameron

2. Press the Enter key.

3. Type the company name: Global Transcription Services


5. Type the street address: 801 South Main Street


7. Type the city, state, and zip code: Des Moines, IA 50340


9. Type the abbreviation Re:. This standard business

abbreviation means regarding or in reference to. It’s

typically used at the beginning of a letter, memo, invoice,

or legal document to indicate the primary subject matter.

10. Press the Spacebar.

FIGURE 7—Use

the Date and

Time dialog box

to automatically

insert the date.


11. Type the subject: Acme Merchandising Company

Sales Meeting

12. Press the Enter key four times.

13. Type this: Payable to:


15. Type Peter Pavlov.


17. Type 42 First Avenue.


19. Type Des Moines, IA 50340.


When you’re finished typing the text, compare your screen with

Figure 8. Then proceed to the next section to name and save

your invoice in the My Documents folder of your hard drive.

(You’ll be saving all of your projects in this folder throughout

this study unit.)

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FIGURE 8—The Word screen shows the body text of the invoice

you’re creating.


Naming and Saving a Document

Complete the following steps to name and save your document

in the My Documents folder.

1. Click the Save button in the upper left corner (Figure 9).

The Save As dialog box appears for you to name your file.

2. If the My Documents folder isn’t already displayed in the

Save in box,

• Double-click the Documents or My Documents

folder (depending on your version of Windows) from

the left panel of the Save As dialog box (Figure 10).

FIGURE 9—To save your document, click Save in the File menu.


3. Notice that Word has suggested the name “INVOICE” in

the File name box. You can modify the document name

as follows:

• Click to the right of the word “INVOICE” in the

File Name box.

• Press the Spacebar.

• Type Acme.

• Click Save.

This procedure saves your file on your computer’s hard

disk as INVOICE Acme. Notice that this name now appears

in the title bar of the document window (Figure 11).

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FIGURE 10—Select

the Documents or

My Documents

folder.


4. To exit Word, click the Close button—the square button

marked with an “X” in the upper right-hand corner of

your screen. The Windows desktop appears. You can

quit Windows now to end your work session or move

directly to the next section to reopen your invoice and

add a worksheet.

Embedding a Worksheet

Now that you’ve completed the basic text portion of the invoice

using Microsoft Word, you’re ready to calculate your invoice

total using an embedded worksheet from Excel. Instead of

figuring the math by hand or with a calculator, you can use

Excel to handle the calculation. Follow these steps to embed

a blank worksheet in the Word file INVOICE Acme.

FIGURE 11—The name of the document now appears in the title bar.


1. Open INVOICE Acme. The document window displays

your invoice.

2. Click to the left of the abbreviation Re:. The insertion

point appears before the abbreviation.

3. Press the Down Arrow key twice. The insertion point

moves to the blank space halfway between the Re: line

and the Payable to: line.

4. Click the Insert tab.

5. Click Object in the Text group. The Object dialog box

appears with the Create New option menu selected.

6. If necessary, scroll down to locate Microsoft Excel

Worksheet; then click on it (Figure 12).

7. Click OK. This embeds a new blank worksheet in the

document window (Figure 13). Notice that the Excel

toolbars appear in place of the Word toolbars.

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FIGURE 12—Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet in the Object dialog box.


If necessary, scroll down to bring the whole worksheet

into view. The new worksheet automatically displays seven

columns (A–G) and ten rows (1–10). Since the worksheet

is now active, the current menu bar and toolbar display

Excel functions. Go to the next section to reduce the size

of this worksheet.

Resizing an Embedded Worksheet

It’s easy to change the number of columns and rows displayed

in a worksheet by resizing it with your mouse. Follow these

steps to remove two columns from your worksheet.

1. Position the mouse pointer on the small black resizing

handle at the center of the worksheet’s right side, which

you can see on your screen and in Figure 13. When you

point directly at the handle, the mouse pointer changes

to a double-arrow pointer.

FIGURE 13—A blank worksheet is embedded in the document, and the Excel menu bar and toolbar are

displayed at the top of the document window.


2. Click and hold the left mouse button.

3. Drag the pointer to the left until the gray, dragged line

comes as close as possible to the right-hand side of

Column E (Figure 14). Note that the dragged line may

not precisely meet the line marking the right edge of

Column E.

4. Release the mouse button. Your worksheet is resized so

that only Columns A–E appear (Figure 15).

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FIGURE 14—Drag

the border to the

right of Column E.


Now follow these steps to reduce the number of rows in your

worksheet.

1. Position the mouse pointer on the small black resizing

handle at the center of the worksheet’s bottom side.

When you point directly at the handle, the mouse

pointer changes to a double-arrow pointer.

2. Click and drag upward until the dragged line is level

with the bottom line of Row 4 (Figure 16).

FIGURE 15—Dragging

the right border has

resized the worksheet.


3. Release the mouse button. Your worksheet is resized

so that only Rows 1–4 appear. Compare your screen to

Figure 17.

Bear in mind that the resizing handles can be used to make

the worksheet larger, too. If you accidentally remove too

many rows or columns, simply click and drag to make the

worksheet larger.

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FIGURE 16—Drag the

border level with the

bottom of Row 4.


Completing the Worksheet

In this exercise, you’ll add data entries to the embedded

worksheet. Follow these steps to complete your worksheet.

1. Click in cell A1.

2. Type the number 45.

3. Click in cell B1—or press either the Tab key or the

Right Arrow key—to select this new cell.

4. In cell B1, type this phrase: double-spaced pages at the

rate of

5. Press the Tab key to advance to cell C1.

FIGURE 17—Dragging the lower border has resized the worksheet.


Compare your screen with Figure 18. Don’t worry that the

entry in cell B1 runs into the adjacent cells; you’ll adjust

column widths later.

Before you enter data in cells C1 and E1, you should

format these cells so that the values in them are displayed

as currency.

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FIGURE 18—The text in cell B1 only appears to run into the adjacent cells.


1. Make sure you still have cell C1 selected.

2. On the Home tab, click the Currency Style button in

the Number group, designated by the “$” symbol.

3. Type 3 in cell C1.

4. Press the Tab key. Compare your screen with Figure 19.

The value in cell C1 appears as “$3.00”—with a dollar

sign, decimal point, and two zeros automatically dis-

played. Note that the value in cell C1 obscures the text

spilling over from cell B1.

5. In cell D1, type per page.

6. Press the Tab key.

7. With cell E1 selected, click the Currency Style button.

FIGURE 19—The value

you entered in cell C1 is

automatically formatted

for currency.


8. In cell E1, type the formula =A1*C1. This formula multi-

plies the number of pages in cell A1 by the per-page rate

in cell C1; that is, 45 times $3.00.


The result appears as “$135.00” with a dollar sign, decimal

point, and two zeros automatically displayed. Compare your

screen with Figure 20.

Now you’ll proceed to create an invoice total in cell E3. Even

though there’s only one item on this invoice, it’s good practice

to include a separate total. That way, you can add another

item later or make a copy of this file to create a longer invoice.

Follow these steps to calculate the total amount due for the

invoice.

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FIGURE 20—The total

appears as the result of

the formula you entered

in cell E1.


1. Click in cell E3.

2. On the Home tab, click on the AutoSum button,

designated with the “∑” symbol (the Greek letter sigma).

The Auto Sum feature automatically selects cells E1 and

E2.

3. Press the Enter key. The total “$135.00” appears in

cell E3.

4. Click in cell D3.

5. Type this phrase: Total Due:


You’ve now entered all the data in your worksheet. Compare

your screen with Figure 21. Then go directly to the next

section to resize the width of your columns so that your

worksheet fully displays all the data.

FIGURE 21—This is what

your screen should look

like after you’ve entered

all the data for the

worksheet.


Adjusting Column Widths

Follow these steps to select the entire worksheet and adjust

all the column widths.

1. Click in cell A1.

2. Press and hold the Shift key as you click in cell E4.

This selects the entire worksheet.

3. In the Home tab, click Format in the Cells group, and

then select AutoFit column width.

The columns resize to display all the data, as shown in

Figure 22. As a finishing touch, proceed to the next section

to remove the worksheet gridlines.

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FIGURE 22—Once you

resize the column

widths, you can see

all the data you’ve

input.


Removing Worksheet Gridlines

1. Make sure the entire worksheet is still selected.

2. Click the View tab and then click to remove the checkmark

next to Gridlines in the Show/Hide group (Figure 23). The

gridlines are removed from your worksheet.

Now your formatted worksheet is ready to be integrated into

the invoice document.

FIGURE 23—The Gridlines option is selected by default.


Closing the Worksheet Window

To close the worksheet window, click once in the document

window (outside the worksheet area). The Word toolbars

return, and the worksheet data is embedded into the invoice

text (Figure 24). If you want to select the worksheet again,

simply double-click anywhere in the worksheet area.

Now move directly to the next section to view your completed

document (and embedded worksheet).

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FIGURE 24—The

worksheet data

is now embedded

into the invoice

document.


Using Print Preview

Let’s take a look at your completed invoice using the Print

Preview command. From the File button, click Print. A full-

page view of your invoice appears in the right panel (Figure 25).

After reviewing your work, click the File button to return your

invoice to Normal view.

FIGURE 25—The Print button allows you to view your document as it will appear when printed.


Saving an Integrated Document

When you save your Word document, you also save your

embedded Excel worksheet file.

1. Click the Save button in the upper left corner (the one

marked with a floppy disk). Since you’ve already saved

your Word document (along with the embedded work-

sheet) on your computer’s hard drive as INVOICE Acme,

clicking Save simply updates the saved file with the

changes you’ve made since you last saved it.

2. Click the Close button to exit this application now. The

Windows desktop appears.

Congratulations! You’ve created a truly professional business

invoice using two Office applications—Word and Excel. You

used Word to format and lay out the basic text of the invoice

and Excel to handle the math—all in a single integrated

document. You can quit Windows now to end your work

session or move directly to the next section to copy and

modify your invoice.

Modifying an Integrated Document

You truly discover the advantages of an integrated document

when you create a new version of your file or modify the

existing version. In this section, you’ll copy and revise the

invoice you created in the last section. Because you took the

time to embed a self-calculating worksheet when you set up

the original integrated file, modifying the file for a different

customer will save you many steps. To complete this part of

your studies, you first need to open the original invoice and

make a copy of it. Open Word, then follow the steps below.

1. Open the file INVOICE Acme. The document window

containing your invoice appears.

2. From the File button, select Save As. The Save As dialog

box appears with the contents of the My Documents or

Documents folder displayed.

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3. Click to the right of the name INVOICE Acme in the

File name box.

4. Press the Backspace key to remove the word “Acme.”

5. Type the word Snacktime (Figure 26).

6. Click the Save button. This creates a copy of your

invoice under the filename INVOICE Snacktime.

Note that when you use the Save As command in this way,

Office automatically places you in the new copy of the docu-

ment. The window title bar now reads “INVOICE Snacktime.”

Now that you’ve made a copy of the original file and saved it

under a new name, you’re ready to modify the invoice. The

next set of steps guides you through modifying both the text

in the Word document and the data in the Excel worksheet.

FIGURE 26—You can

save a copy of a file

by typing a new name

in the File name box.


The date you inserted when you created the first invoice

automatically updates when you print (or use the Print

Preview feature). In our figures, dates appear as 20XX;

your document will have the current date. Therefore, the

only change you need to make to the rest of this invoice

is the subject in the reference line. Follow these steps to

replace this text:

1. Position the cursor before the word “Acme” (just after

the space).

2. Press Shift + End to select to the end of this line.

3. Type the replacement text, Snacktime Foods Customer

Focus Group.

The document on your screen should match the document in

Figure 27. When they match, you’re ready to modify the

worksheet area of the invoice.

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FIGURE 27—The

text of the invoice

has been modified.


1. Before you can make changes to the embedded work-

sheet, you must first activate Excel by double-clicking

anywhere within the embedded worksheet.

2. Click on cell A1. The number “45” appears in the

formula bar.

3. Type the number 94 in cell A1.

4. Press Enter. Notice that changing the number of pages

in cell A1 automatically changes the total in cells E1

and E3 to $282.00 (Figure 28). This happens because

you entered a formula in both cells to calculate the

invoice total.

FIGURE 28—Changing

the value in cell A1

automatically changes

the total in cells E1

and E3.


5. Click anywhere outside the miniature worksheet.

6. To save your changes, click the Save button.

7. Close Word.

You just saw how easy it is to create a new version of an

integrated document, particularly when you’ve made the

effort to incorporate timesaving devices—such as dates and

worksheet formulas—that automatically update your work.

In the next section, you’ll try your hand at embedding a

chart in a Word document. Before going on to that section,

take a few moments to review what you’ve just studied by

completing Self-Check 1.

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Self-Check 1

At the end of each section of Integrating Word with Excel, you’ll be asked to check your under-

standing of what you’ve just read by completing a “Self-Check.” Writing your answers to these

questions will help you review what you’ve studied so far. Please complete Self-Check 1 now.

1. You insert an embedded object using the

a. Create New tab on the Insert tab’s Object page.

b. Embed Object selection from the Insert tab.

c. the Insert tab’s Object icon and then selecting Create from the File tab.

d. Embed to File selection from the Tools menu.

2. Which feature updates automatically when you reopen a file?

a. Date and Time

b. Column widths

c. Current address

d. Gridlines

3. When you link an object from one file to another, the object

a. exists only within the file.

b. can’t be altered in the original file.

c. isn’t updated in the destination file when you update the source file.

d. exists independently from the file.

4. To remove gridlines from a worksheet,

a. uncheck the Gridlines box from the View tab’s Show/Hide group.

b. remove the gridlines option on the Print Preview page.

c. do nothing (gridlines aren’t printed by default).

d. uncheck the Borders box on the Page Setup tab.

5. When you double-click on a worksheet embedded into a Word document,

a. the Excel program opens with your worksheet independently of Word.

b. Excel’s toolbars appear for you to modify the worksheet.

c. you lock the worksheet.

d. you can save the worksheet with a different name.

Check your answers with those on page 73.

Integrating Word with Excel

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